Allegri: Madrid scalp just reward for Juventus

The Bianconeri coach was thrilled with the performance of his side against the reigning European champions in Turin but was disappointed that they did not win by a bigger margin

06.05.2015 10:21:10

Massimiliano Allegri has hailed the 2-1 triumph over Real Madrid as a "just reward" for Juventus' efforts in Tuesday's semi-final first leg.
The Bianconeri had only lost one of their last 53 competitive games on home soil (in addition to 46 wins and eight draws) and continued their excellent run of results in front of their own fans courtesy of goals from Alvaro Morata and Carlo Tevez, with Cristiano Ronaldo's headed eqauliser sandwiched in between.
Fernando Llorente had a gilt-edged chance to make it 3-1 late on but he headed straight at Iker Casillas from Andrea Pirlo's teasing free kick.
However, that was the only quibble Allegri had after a rousing performance from his side against the reigning European champions.
"I am delighted with how my players played," the former AC Milan boss told Sky Sport. "This is the just reward they deserved as it’s not easy to reach the Champions League semi-final, and especially not easy to play against Real Madrid.
"We played with brilliant intensity and allowed Real Madrid very little leeway.
“It’s a shame we didn't win by more - we could have done better with the Llorente chance, but I’d have definitely taken a win over Real Madrid before kick-off.
"I can only take my hat off to the players. Now we will prepare for the game for a week so we can fight it out in Madrid."
Juve host Cagliari in a meaningless Serie A match on Saturday - as they won the league last weekend - before travelling to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.
Juventus 2-1 Real Madrid